I think the pearls - one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl - really show a kind of [society] condition.
Ai WeiweiMeasuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man.
Ai WeiweiThat's why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it, which I always find myself very contradictory to.
Ai WeiweiEverything is selected by the central government without good judgment or an understanding of culture to make it really safe. They will become nobody to maintain their power and be raised to the next higher level.
Ai WeiweiThe [China] government has improved in the last years. Of course, the structure is still the same; there's still a one-party system and strong censorship.
Ai WeiweiAny individual can contribute its own belief. And our society or even our government are made by the people. The people would have the final voice, but it requires each individual to act. If we don't act, then the result is very clear. So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.
Ai Weiwei